So a month passes and we find ourselves at the Ides of the second month. Fortunately those of you that suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia are a little more secure but hey I can’t help you if you suffer from triskaidekaphobia, just rest assured that next month’s will be 15th March.

So what happened on Monday 13th February?

Awoke to a milder morning than the past week or so. The remains of the snowmen on the front lawn were noticeably less than that from the day before and at the rate of melting will probably not last the next. Being a Monday (especially a Monday after I had worked the weekend) I was off. My eldest has just begun to sleep through the night without nappies and so as a reward I told her I was going to take her on an adventure.

My eldest loves to watch films but had never been to the cinema to watch one (I have an extensive collection of films) and with half-term comes plenty of kids-oriented films at the local multiplex, plus early showings. One film in particular caught my eye: The Muppets. A favourite of mine from when I was the same age as my oldest and hopefully with something with enough familiarity to prevent her from being bored. She thoroughly enjoyed it (but not the popcorn) although probably not as much as her Dad!

We met up with Mum and sister for a Nando’s meal afterwards before heading home for afternoon naps and snacks and games before evening meal and off to bed. Monday’s are mum’s weigh-in day at the local Slimming World and after a week of illness she was still proud to have lost half a stone, taking her past her target weight and three stone mark. She is very proud, as I am of her!

So what was happening in the world:

People are still in shock at the news that broke the day before that Whitney Houston was found dead in her hotel bath, seemingly after taking prescription drugs and alcohol although the world will need to wait until after a post-mortem and toxicology reports to know for certain. She is not the first pop star to die of an overdose (and surely will not be the last) nor is she the first to be found dead in a bath (Jim Morrison of the Doors, of which I believe there was a famous typo in a well known UK Paper that read: ‘Pop Star found Dad in bath‘ sounds so much less final).

There is a feeling of unease that Abu Qatada (an alleged extremist Muslim preacher wanted in Jordan for involvement in terror attacks from 1998 a crime he was convicted of in his absence) is freed on bail from Long Lartin gaol after being held for 6.5 years without charge. His bail conditions are among the toughest ever. He is only allowed to leave his home for 2 hours a day, he is banned from talking to nearly everyone, cannot use the internet or telephone, cannot lead prayers, give lectures or preach and must wear an electronic tag. To prevent these conditions from being broke a team of 60 officers will be required. Whatever, you think about the situation it seems a nonsense to be where we are with it.

The European financial situation still is poised on a knife edge with Greece voting in more austerity packages to received its latest bailout package from the rest of the European Union. Greece people took to the streets with severe rioting in Athens. This is not going to be a simple solution and it is not going away quickly. Can the Eurozone allow a country to fail and then pick up the pieces or are they going to keep bailing them out until the whole of the system breaks under its own debt mountain? This is something that will continue for the whole of the year, if not the rest of the decade.

Hot on the heals of Fabio Capello’s departure England are not the only team looking for a football manager. Wolverhampton Wanderers have dismissed Mick McCarthy after his team were beaten 5-1 at home by their fierce rivals West Bromwich Albion. This equalled the biggest defeat at Molineux for the Baggies (a record going back 119 years) and marked a year anniversary since Roy Hodgson took charge of the Throstles. This was particularly delightful for me as I am a West Brom supporter. Boing!Boing!

The last slice of news I will mention was the fact that, arguably the biggest Scottish football team of all time and current Champions, Glasgow Rangers look like there are on the verge of going into administration. It is a sad indictment on the state of football in general and Scottish football in particular. To understand the gravity of this one must understand that Rangers are probably the most successful Scottish team of all time (they have won the league 54 times (more top-flight national championships than any other club in the world), they have won the Scottish League cup 27 times – more than any other Scottish club – and the Scottish cup 33 times) and along with their fierce Old-Firm rivals Glasgow Celtic dominate Scottish football. The pressures of maintaining that record and attempting to do well in the lucrative European competitions have pushed this Scottish behemoth into the brink. Should they enter administration then they will be docked 10 points while will take them further from the title and thus any chance of European football next season. The future doesn’t look good for Glasgow Rangers.